Various different swag support systems have heretofore been made for supporting the fabric swag or festoon over a window opening. Some such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,236,017 and 2,244,129 mount festoon rings on a curtain rod or on the curtain rod brackets at the end of the rod. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,606,733, upwardly opening U-shaped swag support brackets are mounted at the front side of the curtain rod. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,203,469; 3,417,807 and 3,901,303 disclose swag holders that are mounted by independent brackets and arranged so that the swag hangs in front of the curtain rod to conceal the rod. In swag supports using ring-type swag holders, it is necessary to insert an end portion of the fabric through each ring and some difficulties are encountered in forming the desired fold or configuration in the rings while equalizing the length of the side drops of the swag and forming the desired curve or drape between the rings. The swag holders in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,203,469; 3,417,807 and 3,901,303 provide fingers on the rear side of the holder to form slots for receiving folds in the fabric to facilitate pleat formation. However, the swag holders in these patents are neither constructed or adapted for supporting a swag on a curtain rod.
Various objects in the present invention are to provide a system for supporting a drapery swag over a window opening having an improved swag holder which facilitates mounting of the swag holders on a curtain rod; enables loading of a fabric swag in the swag holders from a location below the rod; which supports an upper portion of the fabric swag at a rear side of the rod, and which facilitates pleating and draping of the fabric swag.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a swag support comprising an elongated tubular rod having face wall means defining the top, front and bottom of the rod, and upper and lower rear wall portions spaced apart and defining a longitudinal slot at the rear side of the rod. At least two swag holders are mounted on the rod and each swag holder includes a head portion disposed in the slot, and an arm portion extending upwardly from the head portion C-shaped front portion substantially larger than the rod cross-section, the C-shaped front portion extending from the arm portion over the top of the rod and in spaced relation to the front and bottom of the rod and terminating in the distal end spaced from the bottom of the rod to allow a fabric swag scarf to be introduced into the swag holders from below the rod. Each swag holder advantageously includes a fabric clip for holding an upper portion of the fabric swag scarf at a rear side of the rod. Each swag holder also advantageously has a plurality of fingers on an inner side of the C-shaped front portion which define a plurality of fabric fold receiving slots at spaced locations along the C-shaped front portion.